Abstract
SIMPLE arguments involving gravitational fragmentation indicate that for the Universe to contain galaxies and stable nuclear-burning stars, the dimensionless gravitational coupling constant αg(= Gmp2/ħc) must lie within several orders of magnitude of its actual value (5×10−39). The characteristic mass of a galaxy is shown to be α5 αg−2 nucleons. If galaxies and galaxy clusters form by gravitational instability and fragmentation of inhomogeneities in the early Universe, the large-scale structure of the Universe imposes a lower bound, and the instability requirement an upper bound (equal to αg−1/4), on the entropy per particle.
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SILK, J. Cosmogony and the magnitude of the dimensionless gravitational coupling constant. Nature 265, 710–711 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/265710a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/265710a0
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